Rationale: Surgical lobectomy is the treatment of choice for patients with early stage lung cancer. In some centres, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is preferred, where other centres hold on to the conventional open lobectomy via a thoracotomy. Although several studies have demonstrated fewer postoperative complications and shorter hospital length of stay for the VATS procedure, others have reported concerns regarding oncologic equivalence, mainly based on incomplete lymph node staging. Convincing randomized evidence from the literature is lacking. The aim of this randomized multicentre study is to compare quality of life, oncologic endpoints and cost-effectiveness between VATS- and open (thoracotomy) lobectomy.